


Down Time

by ani_bester



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, The Avengers - All Fandoms
Genre: Cap's Kooky Quartet, Gen, down time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-28
Updated: 2012-08-28
Packaged: 2017-11-13 01:32:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/497944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ani_bester/pseuds/ani_bester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony comes across Steve and Clint doing something quite unexpected during some down time</p>
            </blockquote>





	Down Time

**Author's Note:**

> For the record, what Clint teaches Steve here is canon that Steve learned this from Clint. So I just had to write a fic about how this could be!
> 
> Set early Avengers, when Steve and Clint were more prickly around each other than they are now and before anyone knew who Iron Man was. Kooky Quartet times.

Tony crept through the mansion halls, trying to recall everything Steve had taught him about, as Tony called it over Steve's protest, being a sneak. After assuring himself no one was lurking on the hallway but him, he made his way through the hall, taking care to tread silently on the plush carpet. 

Tony figured he didn't have much hope of sneaking up on Steve. The Super Soldier seemed to have a 6th sense about when people were near him, no surprise there. However, Tony wanted to try anyway. 

First, if he managed it, he could hold it over Steve for months, but more importantly, he could hear laughter from the room ahead. Two voices occasionally broke out in honest to god joyful amusement.

One voice Tony recognized from countless nights spent with Steve as Iron Man. The other one he suspected to be Clint Barton's. Which meant Clint and Steve were laughing. Together. 

And Tony absolutely had to know what cosmic power had caused this to happen. 

Peeking beyond the opening that lead into the less formal living room preferred by the four current Avengers, Tony found his suspicions were correct. The two blonde men were alone in the living room _enjoying each other's company_.

Steve stood in the middle of the room, tossing two balls around in an odd pattern. 

"Ok, ready?" Clint asked. At Steve's nod, Clint tossed the third ball into the pattern. Steve integrated it and kept the pattern going.

Tony blinked. 

Steve was . . . juggling. 

Fascinated he stood their watching as Clint gave simple directions and, Tony still couldn't quite believe this was really going on, taught Steve to juggle. Tony hoped he could remain unnoticed because he knew as soon as they saw him the two prideful Avengers would stop. Tony didn't want this picture of Steve, bright eyed, carefree and happy, to end. 

"My god! Have you got it this time? Can we take the training wheels off?" Tony heard Clint ask. 

"Shut up Clint, I'm –" 

The balls dropped to the ground. 

"Concentrating," Steve finished. Steve's back was to Tony now, but Tony could imagine the grieved look he would be giving Clint. Tony had seen Steve's 'disappointed in myself' expression too many times to count and knew it by heart. 

But when Steve turned enough that Tony could see his face, he was still grinning. "I guess I'll have to keep practicing," Steve said to Clint. 

"Oh this is great," Clint whooped. "I knew there had to be something you'd be bad at but juggling? I never would have suspected, not with the way you toss that shield of yours around!"

"That's the problem," Steve answered, bending to pick up the closest ball. "I'm used to much heavier objects, so I over throw. If you gave some chairs, I'd probably do better."

"Excuses, excuses," Clint said. "I want to hear, 'you are better at this than me, Hawkeye,'"

Steve grinned over his shoulder. "You're better at this than me, Hawkeye . . . for now."

"That's a –" Hawkeye cut off as his eyes fell on Tony. "Oh, hey there Tony, we were just . . .passing time."

Steve blushed a little but just shrugged his shoulders. "What brings you by, Mr. Stark?" 

"First off, it's Tony," Tony answered. He hated hearing Steve address him formally; especially after all the private things he'd told Iron Man over the years. A pang guilt tugged at Tony, but he pushed it down. 

"I just needed to take some time to get away for a moment, and I ended up here. You seem to be doing well with the team, 'Cap."

"Well, thank you."

Out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw Hawkeye roll his eyes.

Tony's eyes fell on the two red balls still on the ground. "Juggling huh?" he asked. 

"Clint's spent the past two weeks trying to find something I couldn't do. Juggling seems to be it, at least until I can get more practice in." Tony guessed his surprise showed because Steve rubbed the back of his neck and blushed. "I- I'm just not used to such light objects anymore. It was actually probably a good thing I found out about this weakness this way."

"That's what you get for assuming you can do everything," Clint said haughtily. Tony laughed inwardly and bit back a comment about the kettle and the pot.

"Hey, you want to learn, Tony?" Clint asked nodding his head toward the two red balls on the ground, "If you pick up faster than Boy Scout here, my day will be made!"

"Ahh no, I think I'd prefer to keep my juggling metaphorical," Tony answered, putting up a hand to turn down the request.

That gesture turned out to be a mistake because quicker than his eyes could follow Steve had grabbed his wrist, preventing Tony from making a hasty retreat. He watched helplessly as Clint gathered the remaining two balls. 

"Mr. S—Tony, you were the one just saying you needed to take your mind of things," Steve said. He and Clint held the juggling balls out to Tony.

Tony eyed them as though the might suddenly sprout teeth and attack. 

"C'mon, you scared of looking bad?" Clint jeered.

"It's not as hard as it looks Tony," Steve said encouragingly. "You've got the coordination. I know that from training you. And you pick things up surprisingly fast."

"Surprisingly?" Tony asked, with a raise of his eyebrows. But, inside he'd already given in. Steve was so rarely in this jovial a mood and Tony wanted to share in it when he could be just Tony, and not locked behind an iron mask. 

Tony took the balls. "Ok," he said grudgingly. Then he looked at the two Avengers, eyes narrowed in his best threatening executive look. "But, whoever laughs at me first gets docked this month's pay." 

He tossed two of the balls up and they both went in complete opposite direction. One hit the floor to Tony's left and rolled under the couch, while the other thumped against the wall and rebounded toward Steve. Steve deftly caught t it with one hand and tossed it back to Tony.

Not expecting the ball's return to come so soon, Tony just watched as it whizzed past his shoulder. 

At that point, Steve lost a month's pay. 

"I'm sorry," He gasped, trying to catch his breath as he laughed. "Your expression as it went by." He placed his hand on his stomach as though trying to contain his mirth. "It was worth the penalty."

At that point Clint joined Steve. "Oh thank god" he chuckled, "Now I can laugh and keep my money."

Tony, who'd just fetched the ball from under the couch, threw it at the blonde archer's head. 

Clint easily caught it. "Stop wasting time, Stark. I've got to get you mastering a basic pattern in two hours if you're going to learn this faster than Mr. Perfect here."

Tony looked at Steve, who was shaking his head. "It only took me an hour and 13 minutes, Clint."

"Nope, you had 45 minutes of practice yesterday."

"Then I have to learn this in 1 hour and 58 minutes," Tony corrected, turning to Clint. "So stop wasting my time, it's valuable you know."

Clint laughed, tossed Tony the ball, and began instructing him and Steve again. 

By the end of the day, Steve had juggling down pat. Tony never fully got the hang of it but he had more fun trying than he could recall having in a long time. 

**\- End**


End file.
